No one has hours to scour the papers to keep up with the latest news, so we’ve curated the top news stories in the field of Forensic Science for this week. Here’s what you need to know to get out the door!
Kenosha Police Department, Wisconsin DOJ, & FBI Leverage Othram Technology to Identify the Suspect in the 1977 Murder of Ralph Gianoli (DNASolves – 4/02/2026)
In September 1977, Ralph Ambrose Gianoli was brutally murdered in his home in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Kenosha Police Department responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined 48-year-old Gianoli had been badly beaten and strangled with an electrical cord. An autopsy later determined that he died from blunt force trauma to the head and abdomen. Investigators at the time found signs of a violent struggle inside the home. Blood was found in both the bedroom and living room, broken beer bottles were found inside the residence, and blood was also found on the outside of the front door.
Despite an exhaustive investigation, no suspect was identified and the case went cold. In an effort to crack the decades-old case, investigators engaged Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. Officials with the Kenosha Police Department, Wisconsin DOJ, & FBI worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the suspect. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided forensic evidence, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the suspect. After successfully completing the process, the DNA profile was delivered to investigators who conducted a forensic genetic genealogy search to generate new leads in the case.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted, which led to the positive identification of the suspect, who is now known to be 68-year-old James Terry Fowler of Memphis, Tennessee.
James Fowler was 19 years old and on leave from the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois when the killing occurred. Fowler was convicted of killing his father in Alabama six years later in 1983. He was arrested in Tennessee on a charge of first-degree murder on March 30, 2026. He will be returned to Wisconsin to face trial.
Riverside County Sheriff Coroner and Riverside County District Attorney Leverage Othram’s Technology to Identify a 1980 Homicide Victim (DNASolves – 4/03/2026)
In February 1980, motorists discovered the body of an unidentified female at the bottom of a ravine off Highway 74, south of Cahuilla, in an unincorporated area of Riverside County, California near Palm Desert. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. They determined the woman was a White adult between 20 and 25 years old, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 115 pounds, with short, wavy, light brown hair, measuring 3-4 inches long. She had hazel eyes, manicured fingernails, a well-healed scar on right forearm and a well-healed scar on upper right arm. She was wearing a long-sleeved tan-colored velour blouse, royal blue pants and tan sandals. Her cause of death could not be determined, but the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Despite a lengthy investigation that included fingerprint and dental record comparisons, the woman could not be identified and became known as Riverside County Jane Doe (1980). Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP7139.
In 2025, investigators teamed with Othram to leverage identity inference, a process that enables investigators to identify individuals from DNA evidence, even when there is no known reference sample to initially compare against. Officials with the Riverside County Coroner’s Office, in conjunction with Regional Cold Case Homicide Team (RCCHT) worked together to submit forensic evidence to Othram’s laboratory headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.
At Othram, scientists reviewed details of the case, determining that advanced DNA testing could help to identify the woman. Othram scientists worked to develop a DNA extract from the provided forensic evidence, using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing® to build a comprehensive SNP profile for the woman which was used by a Riverside County Regional Cold Case Homicide Team forensic genetic genealogist, resulting in new investigative leads about the woman’s identity.
Using this new information, a follow-up investigation was conducted leading investigators to potential relatives of the woman. Reference DNA samples were collected from a relative and compared to the DNA profile of the unidentified woman. The California Department of Justice lab was able to confirm the identity of the woman, who is now known to be Victoria Jean Hargrove, who was 29 years old when she went missing from her home in Opelika, Alabama. She was reported missing on January 28, 1980, just three weeks before she was found dead in California.
Investigators are now seeking additional information regarding Victoria Jean Hargrove’s disappearance in 1980, the circumstances surrounding her death, and what may have brought her to California.
After 30 Years, Two Identifications of Skeletonized Remains (Forensic – 4/06/2026)
In May 1993, Charles Marrs (63 years old) fell into the Trinity River near the Big Rock River Access area in Willow Creek. A California Highway Patrol officer and Humboldt County (California) Sheriff’s deputies responded to the call. The CHP officer observed Marrs’ body floating past the north end of Clover Flat. The river was searched by boat, roadway, and with the assistance of a Coast Guard helicopter; however, Marrs’ body was never located.
In 1995, a skeletonized human arm and hand were discovered in the Trinity River near the north end of the Hoopa Airstrip. A DNA sample was obtained from the remains and entered into both the California Missing Persons DNA Database and the National Unidentified Persons DNA Index. The DNA profile was routinely compared against profiles from missing persons and other human remains in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but no matches were identified.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) partnered with Othram, a forensic genealogy laboratory, to determine whether advanced forensic DNA testing could help establish an identity for the unidentified remains or a close relative. With funding provided through Representative Jared Huffman’s Community Funding Grant, a DNA extract from the remains was sent to Othram Inc. Othram scientists used forensic genome sequencing to develop a comprehensive DNA profile. Once completed, Othram’s in-house genealogy team used forensic genetic genealogy to generate investigative leads.
In July 2025, the HCSO received a report from Othram indicating the DNA profile may belong to Charles Marrs. The report identified several genetic relatives, including a nephew. HCSO investigators contacted the nephew, who confirmed that his uncle, Charles Marrs, had drowned in the Trinity River. The nephew provided a DNA sample, which was sent to the CA DOJ for comparison to the unidentified remains.
In March 2026, the CA DOJ notified the HCSO that the two DNA samples were related, confirming the remains belonged to Charles Marrs.
Study Quantifies Global Magnitude of Sexual Violence against Children (Forensic – 4/06/2026)
A new study conducted by researchers at Georgia State University, the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute, Together for Girls and 12 additional organizations has found that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 6 men worldwide experienced sexual violence as children. The researchers estimate that in 2024 alone, more than 130 million children globally experienced sexual violence.
The study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, reveals critical data for understanding the magnitude of sexual violence against children, monitoring global trends, and informing evidence-based policies and practices to protect children from sexual violence and its devastating consequences.
“This study represents the largest evidence base ever assembled on sexual violence against children,” said Xiangming Fang, Research Associate Professor in the GSU School of Public Health. “Our findings highlight the alarming global burden of sexual violence against children and the urgent need for evidence-based prevention strategies and programs to safeguard children worldwide.”
The researchers noted that although the number of studies that measure the prevalence of sexual violence against children has grown significantly over the past two decades, few have systematically reviewed and synthesized this body of literature to produce global prevalence estimates.
“Evidence at this scale leaves no room for doubt that child sexual violence is one of the most significant and preventable threats facing children worldwide, with lifelong consequences for health, wellbeing and opportunity,” said Debi Fry, Global Director of Data at Childlight and Professor of International Child Protection Research at the University of Edinburgh. “It’s clear that governments must view this as a global health emergency and invest in the same level of coordinated prevention, data systems and accountability that the world has mobilized to confront other major threats to human health.”
To arrive at their findings, the researchers examined 1,412 studies across 147 countries and used UNICEF’s definition of sexual violence against children, which includes deliberate, unwanted sexual acts against a child that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, pain or psychological suffering. The study also examined regional variations, the prevalence of contact sexual violence, and experiences of sexual violence in the past year.
The Crime Haunted a Family for 30 Years. Then Some College Kids Got the Files. (Slate – 4/06/2026)
A veteran detective spent years investigating Cynthia Renee Gonzalez’s 1991 killing—until students made a stunning discovery. It was just the beginning.
DNA Doe Project identifies remains found in Vermont in 2011 (DNA Doe Project – 4/07/2026)
Fifteen years after the skull fragment of a man was found on the shores of Lake Champlain, the DNA Doe Project has identified him as 87-year-old Arthur Weiss. In a surprising twist, Weiss was not a missing person – he had died in New York City eight months prior, before his ashes were scattered on Lake Champlain. This identification proves that the skull fragment found was the result of a memorial scattering rather than a disappearance, resolving the mystery of the man formerly known only as Burlington John Doe.
In January 2011, a quarter-sized skull fragment was discovered in the snow in Oakledge Park, a waterfront park along the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. The fragment belonged to an adult white male who died between 1975 and 2011, but nothing more could be determined about the unidentified man.
The Burlington Police Department later brought this case to the DNA Doe Project, whose expert investigative genetic genealogists work pro bono to identify John and Jane Does. A DNA profile was developed for the unidentified man and shortly afterwards, in January 2023, a team of DNA Doe Project volunteers began working on this case.
The DNA results of the unidentified man provided the team with an important clue – he was of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. But their research efforts were complicated by the lack of close DNA matches to Burlington John Doe, as well as impediments like endogamy and recent immigration to the US.
“As a specialist in Jewish genetic genealogy, I was brought on to assist when this case was already underway,” said team leader Adina Newman. “It was clear that this case would be an uphill battle as we faced all the challenges that can arise with Jewish genealogy, such as record accessibility, name changes, linguistic barriers, and more.”
In spite of these challenges, the team continued to plug away at this case, and eventually their hard work paid off. They identified a woman from modern-day Belarus, who had immigrated to the US, as a likely ancestor of the unidentified man. They then noticed that one of her sons – Arthur Weiss – had died just a few months before the skull fragment was found in Burlington.
Investigators from the Burlington Police Department looked into this lead and discovered that, after Arthur passed, his cremains were sent to a friend of his in Burlington. While this friend had since passed away, investigators were able to speak to his daughter, who remembered her father scattering Arthur’s remains across Lake Champlain. Following this revelation, it was soon confirmed that Burlington John Doe was, in fact, Arthur Weiss.
Forensic Anthropology Program Explodes at Ohio State (Forensic – 4/01/2026)
Since it launched in 2023, the forensic anthropology major at The Ohio State University has skyrocketed.
“We had five students in the major the first year,” said W. Scott McGraw, chair of the anthropology department. “Now we’re up to 100.”
To keep up with the growing interest, the department opened a state-of-the-art forensic anthropology lab on campus and hired Nicholas Passalacqua to lead the program.
“Nick is the guy,” McGraw said. “We’re very fortunate to have him here. He founded the subject journal, he wrote the textbook, he’s really the focal point of forensic anthropology.”
Students are not the only group showing enthusiasm for the new major.
Since his arrival in 2024, Passalacqua has created the Forensic Anthropology Services and Training (FAST) program. Now, outside agencies can request assistance from the university in identifying human remains.
$1 Million Genetic Genealogy Initiative Launches in San Antonio (Forensic – 4/08/2026)
A first-of-its-kind initiative in San Antonio—and one of the few in Texas overall—San Antonio Chief of Police William McManus announced the launch of a new $1 million forensic genetic genealogy program to tackle cold cases.
The $1.03 million allocation was secured by Rep. Joaquin Castro through a federal community project funding request—part of a program that allows members of Congress to direct funding toward local initiatives.
The funding will support outsourcing of DNA analysis and forensic genetic genealogy testing to specialized private laboratories in cold case homicides and sexual assault cases.
In the past five years, San Antonio has had 366 unsolved murder cases and 49 unsolved sexual assault cases. Of course, the total number of cold cases stretches much beyond that. Prioritization of cases for this initiative will occur based on the strength of available DNA evidence.
How Bathwater Forensics can Provide DNA Data (c&en – 4/08/2026)
Bathwater could be an untapped source of forensic DNA, according to experiments using samples from both tests and real forensic investigations.
While victims in aquatic deaths can usually be identified, “determining whether other individuals were present at the scene can be much more challenging, especially when there are no witnesses,” explains Mitsuyo Machida, a forensic scientist from Tokyo Women’s Medical University. Her research was motivated by the question, “Can DNA recovered from water provide information about who had been present?”
To evaluate the feasibility of recovering DNA from bathwater, researchers analyzed samples collected from the baths of volunteers after 1–10 min of immersion (PLOS One 2026, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0345878). After simple preparation, samples underwent short tandem repeat (STR) profiling, a common forensic method that generates a genetic fingerprint based on the number of repeated sequences in specific regions of DNA.
The Tragic 100-Year Mystery of a Missing WWI Hero—and the Two Forgotten Clues That Finally Solved It (Popular Mechanics) – 4/08/2026)
The level of carnage in World War I led many to believe it was “the War to End All Wars.” But for some people on the home front, there was no certainty—only the question of what had become of their loved ones who had gone off to fight.
For over a century, one family lived with the mystery of what happened to their soldier who never returned, nor had his death confirmed. Then, in 2024, his descendants received closure as his remains were identified and brought home—and the forensic expert who played a crucial role in the discovery told the story of how it all came together.
Forensic archaeologist Jay Silverstein appeared as a guest author for IFLScience to explain how the body of Private 1st Class Charles McAllister, who fought for the U.S. in the Franco-American counter-offensive at Aisne-Marne, was finally identified.
Secrets of the FGCU ‘Body Farm:’ Training the Living to Help the Dead (FGCU360 – 4/09/2026)
Heather Walsh-Haney, FGCU professor, forensics studies program coordinator and chair of the Department of Justice Studies, directs the activity of her staff and students from her forensic anthropology classes. Walsh-Haney, lab manager Micki Besse (’18, master’s in forensics studies, ’25, master’s in clinical mental health counseling) and lab coordinator Savanna Agilar (’18, bachelors in forensics studies and criminal justice; ’22, master’s in forensics studies) will coach them all through the same careful choreography they bring to real crime scenes across Florida and the country.
It’s all part of an experiential program designed to “have them experience deeper learning that they can call upon when they’re out in the real world” of forensics, says Walsh-Haney.